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Americans, remember, don’t care about soccer.
So most among us likely greeted with a shrug the selection on Thursday of the State of Qatar — not the United States — to host the 2012 FIFA World Cup.
But make no mistake: this announcement was a blow to folks in the soccer business in America. Hosting the sport’s showcase tournament for a second time — the United States hosted in 1994, setting a record for ticket sales — figured to help the world’s most followed team sport strengthen its foothold here.
Instead, the 2022 tournament will be played in a Persian Gulf country about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined (much of it desert). Qatar has a population of about 1.5 million, three-quarters of that foreigners with temporary residency.
We suspect it was the oil money — not the triple-digit July temperatures — that convinced FIFA to choose Qatar’s bid.
